Political Rights Rating in Malaysia
Malaysia: Political Rights Rating was 4 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
4
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
79th
of 199 countries
All-time high
5
in 1989
All-time low
2
in 1972
Years of data
53
1972–2025
Political Rights Rating in Malaysia, 1972–2025
Source: Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for political rights rating in Malaysia is 4, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, political rights rating in Malaysia peaked at 5 in 1989 and was at its lowest, 2, in 1972.
That places Malaysia 79th out of 199 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 53 years of available data.
Political Rights Rating in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 2 | — |
| 1973 | 2 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 3 | +50.0% |
| 1975 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 3 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 4 | +33.3% |
| 1989 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1990 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 1994 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 5 | +25.0% |
| 1999 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2005 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 4 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3, 1.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 4 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3, 1.3× the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 2.75 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 1980s | 3.33 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| 1990s | 4.5 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.4 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 79 Armenia 4 compare
- 79 Benin 4 compare
- 79 Gambia 4 compare
- 79 Georgia 4 compare
- 79 Guatemala 4 compare
- 79 Honduras 4 compare
- 79 Kenya 4 compare
- 79 Maldives 4 compare
- 79 Nigeria 4 compare
- 79 Papua New Guinea 4 compare
- 79 Serbia 4 compare
- 79 Sierra Leone 4 compare
- 79 Singapore 4 compare
- 79 Ukraine 4 compare
- 79 Zambia 4 compare
More social development data for Malaysia
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 150,164 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0042 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 8.49 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is political rights rating in Malaysia?
- Political rights rating in Malaysia was 4 in 2025, according to Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest political rights rating recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 5 in 1989.
- What is the lowest political rights rating recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2 in 1972.
- How does Malaysia rank for political rights rating?
- Malaysia ranks 79th out of 199 countries with data for 2025.
- Is political rights rating rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Rights Rating. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 53 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Identifies the extent of free and fair elections, political pluralism and participation, and a functioning government. Lower ratings indicate more rights.